The Dome Comes Down Again
by feelinfine101
Summary: What would happen if The Dome came down again? Who would be spared? Who would be killed?


Veronica Buttery

English 100

Leslie Gibson

April 6, 2015

The Dome Comes Down Again

Chester's Mill, Maine, had been surrounded by a transparent dome. No one could enter or leave. No phone service or use of the internet was available. Their only way of communication was signs written and placed near The Dome on either side that could be read if it was allowed by The Dome.

During the two years after The Dome had lifted, many of the residents rebuilt their homes and businesses. Some of them decided to leave the area and sold their property. The area had been thoroughly investigated after The Dome had come up by many government agencies and scientists.

Julia and her husband Dale Barbara, otherwise known as "Barbie", stayed for many reasons. They met and fell in love in Chester's Mill. They had endured all the trials and tribulations that The Dome had put them through.

Nori and her stepmother Caroline stayed also. Nori's mother had been buried there. She had died because The Dome had blocked off the roads and the insulin she needed to treat her diabetes could not get in. Joe remained there because he was in love with Nori and they too had been through so much with The Dome.

Sheriff "Big Jim" Rennie and his son and deputy, Junior, stayed because Chester's Mill was "Big Jim's" town. He had been the leader of the town for so long and he was not going to give it up. Many of business owners stayed, rebuilt and restocked. Most of the farmers stayed and planted new crops that were now producing the crops The Dome had killed off. A few new families moved in when they bought some of the property, but much of the town was left still deserted due to too many bad memories for those that lost family members. Chester's Mill seemed to be flourishing once again.

The headquarters' office for The Dome's investigation was still in operation with minimal employees, mostly scientists and few guards were all that were left. They were still studying The Egg that had brought down the original dome.

"Doctor! Doctor! Doctor Johanson! The Egg is gone!" Veronica cried out as she came around the corner and entered the laboratory. As Dr. Johanson turned from his computer, Veronica questioned worriedly, "How could that have happened?"

"What do you mean? Wasn't it locked up in its case last night when we finished up?" he asked as he looked up while rubbing his forehead.

"Yes Sir!" she answered quickly and added, "I double checked it before locking up last night and made double sure to set the alarm on The Egg's encasement."

"How could it have just vanished?" the doctor questioned with a quivering voice.

They both walked hurriedly to the adjoining lab where The Egg was kept protected. As Dr. Johanson walked to The Egg's encasement, Veronica sat down at a computer and immediately started typing away. The doctor inspected the glass encasement, then checked the lock and the alarm.

"Well, everything is in order", Doctor Johanson stated as he glanced over at Veronica still typing away.

"I checked the personnel logs and checked security to see if there had been any abnormalities. No one has been in or out of here since we left last night", Veronica explained. "You know, The Egg has yet to be completely investigated or analyzed. It is a rather strange item. Could it have disappeared on its own?" Veronica queried.

"I will notify Chief Roberts about this and get his input on what to do. I think we should alert Sheriff Rennie and a few of the other residents about this." He called the chief, head of the Dome's investigation. "Sir, the Egg has disappeared! There are no signs of break in, it is just gone!" Listening to the phone, with his hand over the mouthpiece, he told Veronica, "While I set this up with the chief, go ahead and inform Sheriff Rennie about this and have him alert the townsfolk."

Veronica nodded her head and began dialing. Sheriff Rennie was informed first. He sounded really worried. She then informed the Barbaras about what had happened and that they would meet them at the original site of The Egg in about thirty minutes.

The doctor told her that they would be sending out several troops to surround the area, and would send a squad to accompany them to Chester's Mill.

After receiving the call, the Sheriff, now very worried, told Junior that he should tell the rest of the townspeople that they should all meet at the Sweetbriar Rose Café which was the hub of the town.

Junior, after notifying as many residents that he could about The Egg's disappearance, went on further to tell them that they should reach out to as many of the families as they could and to all meet at the cafe. He then drove out to the Barbara's home and loudly knocked on the door.

Barbie answered the door and sarcastically said, "And what are you doing here?"

Junior blurted out "The Egg is missing from the lab, and they want us to meet Dr. Johanson and his group at the first site of the Egg as soon as possible. Didn't Veronica call you?" He finished off saying, "I thought I should drive."

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Barbie said rather loudly then turned to the staircase and hollered out "Julia, Julia come down here!"

Julia came running down the stairs, asking as her feet hit the bottom step of the staircase, "What's wrong?"

Junior quickly explained why they needed to leave and the three of them ran out to Junior's police cruiser and sped away towards the site.

The cruiser and its occupants pulled up at the site about the same time as Veronica, the doctor and a few armed guards. Before Veronica could finish closing the car door, the chatter about The Egg began between them as they walked about twenty yards to the site. "Oh my God!" Julia shouted out, quivering as she stood there. Barbie stepped forward and grabbed her elbow to steady her. Eerily sitting there on a mound of earth was The Egg which was glowing, vibrating, and changing colors rhythmically.

Everyone seemed to grab their cell phones at once. The doctor called headquarters and warned them that The Egg was there. Julia called the hospital and told Nori to get Joe and come out to the site as quick as possible. Barbie called the Sheriff to inform him that The Egg was back.

Nori picked up Joe on the way. They pulled up behind the other cars, jumped out and swiftly ran to the others. They watched Julia and Junior kneel before the egg and reach out to touch it. As their fingers almost reached the egg they were both shocked and were sent reeling a few feet backwards. Then, a clear dome about five foot across covered The Egg. Now, four of the original five people that had touched The Egg and The Dome the first time were now there. The fifth being Angie, who had been killed by another when the first dome covered Chester's Mill.

Julia then blurted out, "This doesn't look good, and we had better get out of here! The Dome could be coming down again!"

Nori and Joe loudly chimed in, "Yeah! Let's get out of here!"

The sheriff, now at the café, was called again on his cell phone by Veronica. The other patrons were alarmed, as they listened to half of the conversation. The café was buzzing with all the questioning fright and chatter going back and forth. Headquarters was also called again by Dr. Johanson. Orders were being given by the chief and the scientists were packing up their gear.

Unbeknownst to everyone concerned, one of the secretaries manning the phones in the chief's office overheard what was happening and decided to make a few phone calls herself. She was in a group that followed paranormal activities and possible UFO sightings. She told the leader of the group what was going on. He immediately started contacting the other seventy-five members in their group of followers.

The roads filled with vehicles heading towards Chester's Mill. Along with the military forces, the paranormal group wanted to be there as well if the Dome was going to come down again. Veronica had also called her daughter, Lianne, and informed her of what was going on. Lianne, also curious, jumped in her car and left to be with her mother.

Back at the site, as if in a trance, the four knelt in front of the now glowing dome in unison as if they were a single entity and reached out with their hands, palms forward, and fingers splayed wide. As their palms touched the small dome, an eerie look came over all their faces. This time they were not shocked. They all felt the strange but minor vibration and heard the low hum emitted from the surface as if talking to them.

After their hands were released by the dome, each came away with a different message to tell. A butterfly came down and landed on Julia's shoulder just like the first time The Dome came down and immediately, Barbie knew she was to be the leader again.

Julia looked at Barbie and just nodded her head. She had been chosen again. Calmly she said to the group, "We must go back to town now. There is much to be done before The Dome returns. It's going to be different this time."

Barbie reached out for Julia, laying his hand on her shoulder and asked, "Are you sure you want to go through this again?"

Julia nodded affirmatively and stated, "Not really, but I must stay. I have no other choice."

Junior knew there were going to be a lot of deaths and Nori knew that she and Joe had much to prepare for, to tend to those that were going to be injured by The Dome.

They all got back into their respective vehicles and headed towards the café, now filled to capacity.

Greetings and questions flooded the room as they walked in. Barbie immediately crossed the small dance floor pushing a disgruntled sheriff out of the way and stood on the stage with the microphone in his hand.

With an authoritative voice, Barbie started talking. "Those that want to leave should go now. Those that wish to stay, please know that Joe, Nori, Julia, and Junior each got a different message from the egg this time." He went on to further say, "As long as we keep it peaceful in the community and we can all get along, it will not be as horrifying to live here like it was the last time. Other than the deaths that will occur when The Dome comes down, we shouldn't have problems like before. But in the meantime, for all those that have pickups or vans, you will all need to be ready." Barbie cleared his throat and continued, "Be ready to transport patients to the hospital when the Dome comes down. Load up with sheets and wood to make into stretchers. Also, gather anything that can be used to stop the flow of blood to bandage the wounded until they can be helped. The rest of you, prepare the school gym as a makeshift hospital. Those that can donate blood, please do so." He went on to say as he hung his head sadly, "Nori was told by the Dome that many others were going to try to get into Chester's Mill before The Dome comes down. Only a handful will survive. We are not going to be able to help everyone but we have to try. She was not told who would or should be saved. Bring your children to the gym with bedding, drinks, snacks, and whatever they like to play with to keep them calm. We can house them in some of the other classrooms." He then questioned, "Does everyone know what to do?" A few hands came up, questions were asked and answered.

The townspeople left with a clear mission in their minds. The lumber yard opened its doors for the wood to make stretchers and anything else that can be used. The local grocery and department stores were opened for the sheets and towels and other supplies. Everything was given to the men to stock their vehicles. Medicines, bandages and other medical equipment were brought from the small hospital. The ladies left to pick up their children and any supplies they could bring from home and they headed for the gym. The men, now stocked up with stretchers and supplies, headed for the perimeter where the first dome came down.

The military armed guards were now in place with orders not to let any more people into Chester's Mill unless they had credentials or lived in Chester's Mill. They had been stationed about every five yards or so around the whole perimeter. The extra scientists and their associates were in place.

The vehicles from the paranormal group flooded the road leading into town. As they were turned away by the guards, they looked for other ways to get in. The group followed some paths, now overgrown, leading around the perimeter that surrounded the first dome. They stopped their vehicles and ran between the guards just as the Dome started coming down. The guards tried to stop them but to no avail. A few were shot as they entered, but most of the seventy-five plus tried one way or another to cross over Chester's Mill borders.

The blood bath began as The Dome came down. A couple made it in with no injuries. Others lost hands, feet, and other extremities as they entered, all falling to the ground, flaying in their own puddles of blood. Many lost their lives as they were split into pieces. Those that had chosen to just drive through the guards were also affected. Cars were cut in half or crushed in different places. Many of the guards were also killed because they were pushed backwards by the glut of followers pushing their way in.

Screams of agony were heard for miles inside and outside the Dome. The men inside in their trucks just shook their heads in horror and they went to work. As they tied tourniquets and loaded the makeshift stretchers into their vehicles they could still hear the cries from the wounded and dying. They raced them back to the gym, unloaded them and then headed back to the massacre to pick up more. So many pools of blood covered the grounds near The Dome. Arms, legs, hands, heads and partial bodies littered the area. After all the wounded had been picked up and taken to the makeshift hospital, to be cared for they went back and picked up the dead and all the pieces that were left behind. The grounds, now soaked with blood of the curious and guards, were a horrific sight. Over thirty bodies were picked up and taken to a barren field and stacked awaiting burial. Fifty-five patients were taken to the gym.

The gym was filled. Blood was everywhere and patients were crying out in pain and anguish while waiting to be taken care of. The ladies and some men attending to the wounded were hollering back and forth to one another for towels, clean water, and bandages. They also were covered with the blood of the victims. Unfortunately there were only two trained medical doctors and four nurses in Chester's Mill. Many more bled to death, laying in their own pools of blood. The doctors and nurses just couldn't save them all even though they tried their hardest. The injuries were just too massive to handle. Out of the fifty-five that made it to the gym only twenty were lucky enough to make it. The blood donated was a great help in saving most of them. Even Julia donated blood which was given to Lianne. Lianne had been hindered getting into Chester's Mill to reunite with her mother because the road in had been blocked by the paranormal group's vehicles, so she had to run on foot to get in. She was one of the more fortunate ones as she only lost a couple of fingers from her left hand as she ran through the perimeter.

Because of the transfusion Lianne received, she was now linked to the original four, taking Angie's place. She would now be able to communicate with the Dome.

To be continued…


End file.
